The W-zone
by CaitlinTheCrazy
Summary: Remus Lupin never saw the point of keeping an address after James and Lily's deaths. He had no one to visit him anyway. After many months of travelling alone he is kidnapped by a group of werewolves and taken to see "the General". Can Remus survive this lawless underground city or will his past catch up with him? Rated M for strong language and violence in later chapters.
1. When the axe murderer strikes

Remus Lupin walked through the dark forest searching for a place to set up camp.

After James and Lily were killed he found no need to keep an address, no one was left to visit him anyway. Not for the first time in his life Remus Lupin felt completely alone. He travelled often, never staying in one place.

When traveling Britain became tedious Remus moved to America. He worked small muggle jobs and only stayed in one place long enough to get his first pay check before moving on. It wasn't much of a life but it meant he could get his mind off of all the death and destruction he left behind.

But there was one person he couldn't shake the image of. Padfoot. _Why didn't he see it coming? How could he have been so stupid to think_ _he was on their side?_ It was always there in the back of his head. _A constant reminder of how stupid he had been. It was his fault James, Lily and Peter were dead. In some ways he was glad they weren't around to see how badly he had failed them._

Remus was quickly brought out of his dreamy state by a loud twig snapping close behind him.

"Lumos," he whispered spinning around wand at the ready.

But all he could see were the thick shrubs and sharp brambles he had just been stumbling through.

_Probably a chipmunk _he thought to himself lowering his wand but not yet turning his back on that one spot of shrubbery. After a few more seconds of tree staring Remus decided to push on through the dense forest_. _

_Camping was a "great" idea Moony really "top notch" now no one is around for miles to hear your screams when the axe murderer jumps out of those bushes._ He pushed those thoughts away when all of a sudden a white hot pain erupted in the back of his head.

He fell backwards and the scarred face of a man not much older than him was the last face he saw before the world went dark.

Water splashed his face. _Is it raining?_ His head ached. His eyes were heavy and once opened all he could see was blurred figures. He closed his eyes willing his headache to stop when a deep voice spoke.

"Open your eyes brother; you bear our scars. You will go to a better place we are here to save you."

His voice was loud and he seemed to be speaking to the people around him instead of Remus himself.

_These people are crazy! They sound like they're going to sacrifice me to some obscure god or something!_ Remus tried to move his arms but found them bound together behind his back. He had no choice but to open his eyes and face his kidnapper.

The man couldn't have been older than twenty. His hair was a raven black colour that shone in the camp fire's flickering light. He was strong. He looked like a savage with his long hair that hung in his eyes and his clothes which were worn and had a fair number of holes. He looked around at the other men and women surrounding them taking note of how they all wore black while this apparent "leader" was clad in bright red.

Each person had a machine gun strapped to their back and a machete hanging from their belts.

"There is no need to worry," the kid in red said though every face looked stony and threatening, "we don't want a fight, just come with us now there's no point in struggling. We have a new home for you now." He smiled reassuringly waiting for Remus to answer. When he didn't he added quickly, "I'm Noah. I'm in charge of this group of soldiers."

"Well hi there Noah," Remus said sarcastically, "it's not that I'm not thrilled to meet you but I'd rather not do introductions with my hands tied like this."

Noah signalled to a woman standing close by who grabbed Remus' arms roughly and sliced through the rope with her machete. Remus rubbed his wrists which were bright red from the rope burn.

"Where are you taking me anyway? What is this 'better place' you're talking about?"

Noah looked surprised, "haven't you heard of the W-zone?" he asked looking around the others who had equally stunned faces.

"Well no, I'm not exactly from here" Remus replied sheepishly.

"That explains the wand," exclaimed a short man who's gun seemed to be considerably bigger than him.

Remus' hand immediately flew to his pocket. Gone. "What have you done with my wand?" He shouted angrily.

Noah raised his hands in mock surrender, "calm down there! We have it somewhere safe. You'll get it back, but not until the General decides if you aren't dangerous."

Remus breathed out a heavy sigh. There were too many of these homeless looking soldiers for him to get away from. There was an even smaller chance of him fighting his way out without a wand. So he stood up and put his hands in the air signalling that he was coming quietly.

The soldiers led him through the forest in a tight square for what seemed like hours and no one would give him any more information on the so called W-Zone.

That was until he caught up with a very young looking boy with bright blonde hair. The boy's name was Sparrow he spoke with a strong southern accent and clearly was far too nice to ever turn his gun on anyone.

"So y'all not from here," he said panting from the weight of the gun plus the first aid kit strapped to his back.

"Yeah I'm originally from Wales " Remus answered curtly getting impatient with the kid who ignored all his questions about the W-zone.

"Never heard of it" He answered, "know this Lupin am gonna be straight with ya; the W-zone is a hell hole"

Remus snorted out a laugh, "is there any way for me to cancel my room?"

"Oh no, once ya've been caught that's it. No way out. See it was set up by the USMLF or the United States Magical Liberty Federation. Bunch of rich bastards. They have a thing 'gainst wolves so they built an underground city and hid us there. Now if we spot any wolves in the area we gotta bring 'um in so they don't bite no more wizards."

"How do you survive underground?" Remus asked, suddenly extremely interested.

"The wizards set us up with our own water supply and they send us food 'n' medicine but part from that we on our own."

Just then everyone stopped, almost making Remus crash into the woman in front of him. They stood in front of a massive oak tree. Noah walked forward and knocked a tune into the trunk. A door appeared on the tree trunk and Noah opened it revealing an artificial orange light. The soldiers walked in unfazed. Remus stared for a moment before being pushed harshly in line with the soldiers and inside the tree. There was a short dimly lit tunnel with orange rock walls. Then the tunnel opened up revealing a blinding orange light. Remus blinked. This place was unbelievable.


	2. The man at the end of the alleyway

An enormous cavern of orange rock stretched for miles at every side, it could only have been made magically. Although a layer of rock lay between the cavern and the sky, the W-zone had a bright orange glow.

All around there were small houses, shops, large multi-storeyed buildings and tiny little cabins lined the miss-matched streets. It was utter chaos. The only similarity between one building to the next was that they were all made from the same milky coloured stone that gleamed in the harsh light.

There was one building that stood out from them all. A monumental eyesore that stood tall in the very centre of the main street that the tunnel passageway led onto. It was a massive cathedral made of a charcoal coloured rock. It had many small arched stain glass windows and one massive circular one that glared down at them from the uppermost tower.

Sparrow must have caught Remus looking because he gave him a wide grin and pointed to the stone monster.

"That there's the General's palace, he got the office in that tower," he scratched the back of his neck a smirk playing on his lips, " that also where us soldiers stay, it's better than the houses but it's two to each room and they ain't that big."

Remus smiled; he wondered where he was going to end up. _Knowing my luck I'll be stuck with the worst job imaginable. _He didn't even want to think about what the bin men around here had to clean up.

Remus was led down the main street and past a water fountain featuring a snarling wolf as it's centre, then they climbed up the grey stone steps and through an endless maze of dark, candlelit corridors until finally they reached a small office. The soldiers filed out, all except for Noah who stood with his hands behind his back and a proud smile firmly in place. After no time at all a small woman with short brown hair walked into the office and sat down behind a desk. There was a pause before she looked up exasperatedly.

"Well?" she asked rolling her eyes at the man in red.

"Oh sorry," Noah said, unshaken by the woman's death glare that was fixed firmly on him "my group found this man wandering around in the woods and seeing his scars we decided he was one of us."

Now it was Remus' turn to roll his eyes at him "I wasn't wandering I was looking for a place to set up camp."

"Name?" the woman commanded looking extremely uninterested.

"Remus Lupin" he replied letting out a sigh.

"Age you were bitten at?" she asked as she went on scribbling hurriedly on a document of some kind.

"I guess four," Remus replied, calmly.

The woman looked up from her writing and fixed Remus with a look of irritation mixed in with slight confusion.

"I was bitten just before my fifth birthday," Remus clarified.

"Ok," she continued writing in silence until she turned to Noah, "suggested career path?"

Noah looked Remus up and down a few times. Just as Remus was getting uncomfortable he replied.

"I reckon he'll make a good soldier, ...he knows magic, ...I found a wand on him"

"Well then, it is my great honour to welcome you to the W-zone and on behalf of the USMLF I wish you luck on your new life," the woman recited from memory in a monotonous voice.

From there Remus made another lengthy journey through the corridors stopping to change into all black attire then again to be assigned a group. By the end of it, all he knew was that his first round of street watch started at eight and his "Red coat" was called Ash.

Remus spent the rest of the day outside yet another office waiting to get his wand back then headed down to the front steps where the rest of his new group stood waiting. Remus knew watch would be his best chance at escape he had spent the entire day with someone over his soldier so he greeted everyone with a wave and a smile and proceeded to bluff his way through introductions.

There were seven other soldiers not including Ash who turned out to be a black haired woman with a missing arm and plenty of battle scars. She wore her hair in a painfully tight looking ponytail and looked to be the only one there with any real experience. They were paired off and sent in different directions. Remus was with a large muscular man with a shaved head and very few brain cells.

They walked down streets and alley ways where people loitered or sat on door steps. The places were dank and the people looked tired and ill. Children played in the dusty streets. Men and women could be found in the many bars and brothels. That's where Remus saw his chance and he took it.

His team mate Lee was too busy breaking up a bar fight to notice Remus slip away. He backed out into the street and began to run, pulling out his wand and turning on the spot the way he always did. But nothing happened. He cursed and tried again when he heard Lee shouting for him. _This can't be happening. _The USMLF must have set up an aparation block, in fact almost every spell Remus could think of failed him.

Then he heard hurried footsteps that's when he noticed the calling had stopped. This was no longer a missing soldier this was a man hunt. Remus began running again through darkened alleyways leading into an endless mess of streets. He stumbled through crowded markets and dodged running children. He turned a corner and found the silhouette of a single man standing at the end of the alleyway.

The man stood still. He looked to be wearing a suit but it was hard to tell with his body completely in shadow. The only distinguishable features was his polished black dress shoes, which seemed completely out of place in these streets, and his bright white grin that never faltered as he stared at Remus through the darkness.

All of a sudden a voice called out.

"You have got to be fucking joking" called Ash as she ran up behind him.

Remus stood where he was staring at the figure that may or may not even be real.

Then before he knew what was happening Ash had shoved him too his knees and her metal toed boot connected with his head just above his right eyebrow. Once again that oh so familiar feeling overwhelmed Remus and the world was washed away from sight.


	3. HOWL

His eyelids were heavy. So was his head. His neck throbbed in pain from the awkward angle Remus had his head in.

He heard the soft clunking of someone's boots on the floor as they slowly crept around him. They circled his chair slowly always pausing directly behind him, waiting for him to cringe; but he did not.

Remus instead opened his eyes part way. He was in a small windowless room devoid of furniture, except from the chair he was currently bound to, and a metal table. Ash stood still behind him.

"Enjoy your little nap?" she asked "you must have been tired after all that running you did today."

She let out a sharp breath of laughter and positioned herself so she was speaking straight into his ear.

"You didn't think we'd let the new guy run around with a wand without some sort of protection for the others, did you?" she laughed again making Remus jump involuntarily in his seat "You know who you remind me of? My baby brother."

Remus looked into her cold blue eyes but quickly found her gaze too menacing and looked down at the dirty tiled floor. She grinned icily before beginning to pace around him once more.

"My brother was mommy and daddy's little man," she continued her voice awash with condescension "he never was very smart and he got himself into some trouble, thought he could become a monster hunter."

She laughed again but this time it was hollow, her black hair hid most of her face, giving the visible parts a gaunt look. A sneer formed on her pale face that seemed almost like a grimace of shame.

"He decided to go out on a full moon to hunt. I found his bedroom empty and went out looking for him. By the time I got there he was half eaten but I could still see that dumb look on his face. Of course my moronic brother had to go and end my life too. I didn't only lose my arm that night.," she seemed to start in the realisation that she had given away more then she had bargained for.

She slammed her fist angrily on the table, then glared down at Remus. She walked up slowly and raised her hand.

The door behind them opened. Ash froze. A male voice cleared it's throat causing Ash to slowly lower her hand instinctively, her eyes fixed on the stranger behind Remus.

"That will do for now, Ashley, thank you for your help," a cool deep voice stated in a business like manor.

Ash flinched at the use of her full name but did not correct the man, instead she shot another glare in Remus' direction and proceeded to stomp out of the room. Remus heard the man close the door behind her and stop for a moment, taking a breath.

"I am terribly sorry for all this mistreatment you've gone through," he spoke even more calmly then before, "we are under a lot of pressure due to the recent murder of a USMLF official. Those wizards seem pretty sure it was one of our kind."

He walked round the table drawing up a chair out of nowhere and sat himself down. Remus immediately recognised him as the man at the end of the alleyway, though this man didn't seem like the mysterious stranger that had left Remus in wonder before. Apart from the clean tailored suit, he seemed like a regular guy, you wouldn't give him a second glance if he passed you in the street or in a corner shop. But there was something in his smile, his smile could calm down a whole room. It had a disarming effect that no one could really explain. Remus found it ridiculous what with his current predicament but he found that he couldn't help but want to know more about this stranger sat in front of him.

As if on cue the white toothed, over dressed man leaned forward in a rehearsed friendly gesture, grin still in place "I must have bored you with all my politics, you seem a bit dazed," his smile only grew wider "they call me the General though I never was a military man."

He stuck out his hand but then noticed Remus' bound wrists, taking a knife out of his pocket he released Remus from the rope who immediately rubbed his wrists from the discomfort. The General ran a hand through his chestnut hair and sighed briefly.

"I'm sure you have been given an entirely wrong impression of this place," his tone grew more serious, "Listen, Mr Lupin despite your escape attempt you seem like a smart and fairly reasonable man. It goes without saying that your magical ability will be more than useful to us, but I can't let you back into our world if I am in constant fear of you being a flight risk."

Remus met the man's warm hazel gaze, "then let me go."

The smile dropped entirely from the General's face, his eyes darkened to an inky slate colour, his pale skin was more prominent without the distraction of his smile. He looked ill.

"The only way you will be able to leave The W-zone is in a coffin"

He threw himself from his chair before marching to the door, he turned back around once he'd reached it.

"And believe me, that can be arranged."

The door was slammed shut behind him.

It was due to that conversation that two weeks later Remus found himself as a devoted soldier in Ash's team. It was also due to that conversation that Remus found himself vacillating between staying on the General's good side and avoiding him completely. How could anyone run an entire civilisation (if you could even call it that) when they could hardly manage their emotions?

But everyone else seemed to trust the man in the suit so Remus decided to let it be. Instead he worked at learning as much as possible about the W-zone and it's inhabitants as he could. He found that the deeper he dug the more insane it got.

He learned that five major drug lords work the main streets, each having gangs and thugs to carry out their transactions. In each gang there were at least two pimps who use their women to get men (and some women's) information. He heard about the terrible murders committed in the most public places, prostitutes being hacked to pieces for going against their boss' wishes, men being drowned, burned, shot or stabbed just for looking at someone funny. It was true that if not for the soldiers these streets would've unfolded into total anarchy long ago.

It was in the same alleyway where Remus first saw The General that he first met the H.O.W.L pack.

There had been on a raid in Minax's bar which then moved out onto the streets in a ridiculous standoff between the inebriated mobsters and the exhausted soldiers. After being under constant fire Remus spotted two guys trying to get away. He tailed them, spilling into the identical side streets and darkened closes. Running flat out and diving behind a rubbish bin when the assailants returned fire. On and on he chased, through the labyrinth of filthy alleys, only to turn a corner and find they had vanished. He searched the nearby buildings and streets but found that no one could tell him where the dealers were. Then when Remus began to walk around again he quickly found himself lost with no team member in sight.

That's when he saw the familiar alleyway he had been captured in only two weeks before. he trundled down it, fatigue finally taking effect. That's when he felt it. A muscular arm wrapped around his neck from behind. His breath stuck in his throat. He struggled against him but the longer he went without air the weaker he got. A blinding pain erupted in his lower back, his eyes watered, he gasped in desperation as black spots filled his sight and began to expand. Hot liquid poured down his back. His legs gave under his own weight, at some point he was released from his strangle hold, but he barley noticed as he fell to the ground. He sucked in a breath, but he was still dizzy and all around him the liquid spread out in a circular shape.

"We are not your slaves!" his attacker shouted.

"Down with the W-zone! Bring on the H.O.W.L!" a chorus screamed.

"Freedom for the wolves!" The first voice bellowed.

"Kick the rich ones down!" The chorus answered.

The world kept on spinning around him and as the black spots closed over Remus had only enough time to hear a female voice scream.

"Help!"


	4. Apparitional woman

His back was on fire. He felt as if he was going to empty the contents of his stomach onto the already filthy ground. Then there was that voice, high pitched and panicked. He tried everything to block it out, but somehow it got through.

"Help! Oh God! Someone help please!" The voice sobbed uncontrollably in-between each plea, "can you hear me?"

The woman shook his shoulders desperately, Remus couldn't help but wince and let out a groan of pain.

"Sorry! sorry, just what do I do?" the woman sounded more like a lost child at this point, her words were more like whimpers.

"S-stop the bleeding," Remus managed, surprised the girl could hear his choked whisper.

"Okay, how?" she replied sheepishly.

"U-use my shirt," Remus could feel himself losing consciousness once more, "tie it a-around the wound"

He could feel the sleeve of his shirt being ripped apart and felt the reassuring pain that meant the girl had a hold of his wound. Using the sleeve to add pressure; the girl managed to slow the blood flow. Now he was feeling a bit stronger, Remus asked the one question spinning through his mind.

"What happened?"

"The HOWL happened," the girl paused, apparently picking her words with care, "the pro wolf movement. It stands for "The Hell Only Wolves Live." Kinda dumb right?"

She seemed lost in thought as she sat in the dark alleyway holding a ripped piece of fabric to an open wound. Remus couldn't help but be calmed by her voice and the way she let out an air of acceptance. She was one of those people you could tell your whole boring life story to and would probably pretend to be interested, (or at least pretend to listen).

"Nobody knows who founded it or who runs it. All we know is that they like to run around at night, taking down authority figures to promote their cause. They believe that us wolves should be self-sufficient. They want to break away from the wizards' control so we can have rights and freedom and all that crap."

She snorted at her own joke before seeming to sober up at the sight of their predicament.

"I sent someone to go bring help, shouldn't be long now."

Remus finally found the strength to open his eyes again. He was surprised, this girl seemed completely unremarkable. Her hair was wispy and hung straight down, framing her pale face with the light brown colour. Her eyes, too, were a very common blue that held beauty in the light, but under normal circumstances wouldn't attract a second look. She was slightly on the thin side but not as much as the other women walking around. Her skin was marked only by her scars which she seemed to parade as a badge of honour on her plain face.

She gasped suddenly as if something amazing had happened right before her eyes,"my name is Jacki by the way but everyone just calls me Jack."

She smiled warmly at Remus, who would've smiled back had he had something to ease the mind numbing pain. Her smile slowly transformed into a grin as relief shone bright across her face. Help had arrived.

Remus awoke face down on a wonderfully comfortable bed. Looking up he was both surprised and relieved to see Jacki still by his side, whistling an unfamiliar tune she sat on an uncomfortable looking chair with her gaze fixed out the small window. Remus couldn't help but smile, she met his gaze and jumped slightly obviously not aware of his conscious state.

"I just thought I'd stick around to make sure you got all patched up again" she said though her eyes kept darting longingly at the food trolley.

"Are you hungry?" Remus asked politely.

She looked surprised, "I'm fine; us W-zone gals gotta take care of ourselves" she smiled, unconvincingly.

Remus propped himself up on his elbows, being careful not to agitate his bandaged wound, "it's no trouble, I probably won't eat any of it anyway"

Jacki jumped up from her seat and rushed to the food trolley, paying no attention to the other person in the room, and began to inhale the food with ferocious passion. Once she slowed down, she let out a small chuckle and held out a peppermint cream.

"These are my little girl's favourites," her smile faded and her skin started to match the pale white walls "were her favourites," she amended.

Jacki's loud charisma died with her last words. Her smile was long gone now. She visibly faded into the background as if she were never there. Remus was about to say something to try to comfort the apparitional woman, only to find she had disappeared completely. Remus decided that she must have left while he had lost himself in thought. He felt guilty now for ignoring her. But even after he was better the woman had still vanished.

Until three months later. Remus walked down the polished steps of the general's palace and found her sitting on the very edge of the last step, with one black eye and a bleeding cut on her neck, though she still had the grace to smile up at him, as if she had just walked into an old friend in a coffee shop.

"Got any more peppermint creams?" she asked, her eyes swam with the moisture of her unshed tears.

"Who did this to you?" Remus asked through gritted teeth.

She smiled sadly up at him "he goes by many names, none of which I'm allowed to say"

"Can't you tell me anything?" Remus was getting aggravated now, he guessed that this man was the reason he hadn't seen Jacki for such a long time.

Before Jacki could answer a large overbearing man, stinking of alcohol and tobacco ran to them, "Jacki, babe the boss has been looking for you," he noticed Remus in his black uniform. He glared down at her "have you forgotten all he's done for you?"

Jacki turned back and gazed at Remus. Her eyes told him everything her voice didn't, still she took the hand the man offered and walked away.

Remus found her mutilated body on the stairs where she had sat only a day later.


End file.
